Blackened Heart
by Empressofwhispers
Summary: The marauders each had a secret identity. A way of claiming their work and pranks without getting detention. There was only one problem. To the teachers, this could be anyone. Soon people started claiming their handiwork... Some slash included. RLSB
1. Missing Moony

Introduction

Well then, let's get this over with. First there are the pairings... after all, this is a romance, is it not? THERE WILL BE SLASH. Flaming me for the pairings will only prove to me how very shallow and pathetic you are for not showing regard towards anyone else's views, thoughts or opinions. If you have no regard for them, what makes you think I'll have regard for yours? Anyway, here is a short list of the pairings this might include:

Sirius/Remus

Lily/James

Peter/himself

Okay then, with all that tish tosh out of the way, enjoy the story. OH, and by the way, I would be delighted if someone besides me would draw for my story. Please? Thank you.

My Compliments to fellow Writers,

The Empress of Whispers

Blackened Heart

.: Chapter One:..:We have our Faults:.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" A voice barely above a whisper questioned. Another voice harshly but firmly replied, "Of course it's going to work! Why wouldn't it?" "We might get caught." The troubled first voice sounded yet again. The other sighed, "Stop your whining and get inside, Peter. No one is ever going to notice a little rat scuttering across the floor." Peter nodded sheepishly, afraid of being crushed by one of his less considerate friends, "But Sirius, you'll back me up if I do get caught, right?" The younger Black nodded and rolled his eyes, "Of course I will. That's what friends do, right?" "Right." Peter took a deep breath before transforming into his small rodent figure and skittering away. Though he didn't hear what Sirius muttered, "But you never see any rats being friendly to any other animals, now do you?"

While Sirius was muttering to himself, Peter had nervously put the vial in place and tuttered back under the door and stayed into his rat form the rest of the night. Sirius grinned from ear to ear, the grin he usually wore after completing the first step of a major prank. He sauntered back into the Gryffindor common room and winked and nodded at James, "Padfoot is very proud to announce that step one of operation 'Prancing Pansy' is complete." James grinned that very same grin and winked back, "Great going' Padfoot. Now all we need is for it to be morning." Sirius couldn't help but snicker at the thought of what would happen to their potions Professor the next day, "Yeah. Hey, where's Moony?" The grinning boy before him shrugged, "Beats me. I think he's sleeping upstairs." The Black heir quirked a brow, "At this hour? Prongs, you can't be serious. We both know that Moony's a creature of the night." James then quirked his brow, "Pads, it's almost 12:00 and we have a prank to pull off tomorrow. If Remus isn't sleeping, he's probably talking with the house elves. You know how he is. Besides, I got the butter beers and you simply can't break our tradition." Sirius gave in, "Alright. Pull out the butter beers. It just won't feel the same without Moony around."

Peter had finally come down from the dorms in his human form and immediately noticed not that Remus was gone, but that Sirius and James were about to do the traditional feasting before pranking without him, "Hey! Don't forget me! James!" They put their fingers to their lips and made a long sh sound. James purposed the toast, as it was his turn but his concerned friend stopped him, "No, Prongs. We can't do this without Moony." Peter shrugged, "Meh, he's probably sleeping." James agreed, "Yeah, Siri. I mean, it was full moon two weeks ago." Sirius shook his head, "Moony wouldn't want to miss this. He's usually better by two weeks." Peter shrugged and raised his butter beer, "What difference does it make? The food is still going to be delicious." Both the other boys glared daggers at the younger before James proceeded to ask his dear friend, "Since when are you so concerned about Moony, Padfoot?" Sirius shrugged, "I just don't want him to be mad that we started without him. He's sensitive, you know?" James kept his brow up but said, "Yeah. Okay. Anyway, cheers." "Cheers." "... Cheers."

Sirius feasted as usual, but did not feel quite as cheery as he would have been had all the marauders been present. Where was his beloved friend Remus, anyway? What was he doing? Sirius looked up and out of one of the few windows in the common room, staring at the waning moon. Why was he so concerned? This wasn't the first time Remus had missed out of one of their traditional prank feasts. But this time it was different. Sirius saved more than enough food and hid it under his robes as he fake yawned, "Well, I'll be headin' up for some sleep now. Have fun stuffing your faces." (Most of that last one was directed towards Peter whose face was drenched in gravy.) Peter nodded slightly as did James, but the popular seeker was more hesitant in nodding. He suspected something but shrugged it off. At least that's what the sexy marauder thought as he slipped up the stairs and into the dorm, leaving the food he'd saved on Lupin's bed.

-Meanwhile-

"What do you think is wrong with him, Wormtail?" James Potter asked his loyal, number one fan after swallowing a bite of a chicken leg and copying Sirius by looking at the moon. His chubby friend shrugged his shoulders while vacuuming his mashed potatoes and peas up his mouth, "Hm, Merlin save us all if I know. He'll get over it. Great food, prongs, how'd you get it?" "I didn't," the seeker started, "Moony did." Peter grunted a reply but it wasn't comprehendable with all the food in his mouth. James followed Peter's example and continued to eat, but mentally was still tripping over Sirius's strange behavior.

Could it be that the lady charmer was telling the truth and that he merely didn't want Remus to be angry? No, no. That couldn't possibly be it. Perhaps the reason Sirius could never settle with one girl was that maybe he didn't truly crave the ladies as much as they craved him. Maybe, just maybe, Sirius craved something else. But there was no evidence of that. James could not prove it if he wanted to. His egotistical friend would deny that on all charges. The much admired young gentleman sighed and shook his head disapprovingly at this thought. Remus could never settle with any of the girls at Hogwarts without his secret of where he was full moon being let loose. No, that would be a disaster. He stopped his train of thought right there, he was too tired to think about it now. He'd think about that tomorrow.

He packed up his things and said farewell to his friend, Peter; who was finally beginning to feel full, "I'm off to bed. Goodnight, Wormtail." "Goodnight, James."

.:Author's Note:.

Well, that's it for this chapter. I hope you enjoyed! Reviews help me motivate myself to write future chapters! Thank you!

The Empress of Whispers


	2. Operation Prancing Pansy

Author's Note: Since it is forbidden for me to answer your reviews, I would like to thank you all by saying that you have motivated me to write more of this. I'm sorry it's extremely late… I've been pushed to and fro on the account of my job. Sorry!

Thank you for understanding!

.:Chapter Two:..:Operation Prancing Pansy:..

"WAKE UP, SIRI!" James's cheerful tone annoyed Sirius awake. The dark haired marauder grumbled curses at James under his breath. Then suddenly a sweet sound entered his ears; the sound of a happy and familiar voice. "Come on, Padfoot! We've got a prank to pull!" Sirius jumped up wide awake instantly to the sound of Moony's voice. He hugged the werewolf, "REMUS! WHERE WERE YOU LAST NIGHT!"

James fought to stifle a chuckle, while in his mind he was pondering over Sirius's fondness of Remus. Was it a brotherly connection between them? He most certainly thought not. Why, a hug like that was more than just a concerned hug. It was a very excited hug. The two looked absolutely adorable hugging like that. And to have James think that took a lot. He only considered Miss Evans cute… and not even completely. Why? Because she was also sexy, hot, beautiful, gorgeous, drop-dead, and a knock-out at LEAST. Wait a minute; what was he supposed to be thinking of? Ah yes, the two hugging people before him.

Moony laughed and hugged his sweet friend tightly, "That? Oh. I was tutoring Denise. You know, the girl who's too busy adoring you to pay attention during class?" "Ha, yes. I know her. She's the one we grew a mustache on, right Prongs?" The leader of the clan snickered at the memory the red-head sprouting a gray mustache along with side burns and a go-tee to match. A total Irish dream, eh? James nodded, "You bet! Why are you tutoring a Ravenclaw, Moony? Is she going to fail?" With his conscience firing up, the werewolf stood up for his acts of kindness, "Yes! She's insisting on paying me but I told her no." "Told her no!" Sirius at last broke away from the hug, "Well that is so much like you, Moony. It's a very admirable thing to do."

In response to the compliment, Remus flashed his companion the widest, most beautiful grin he had ever seen, "Thank you Siri. I figure you won't do things like this so I'll do them for you." By this time Peter had already left without another word, most likely due to the fact that he always got the jitters before a major prank. "No matter," Thought James, "The two flirtatious friends of mine haven't noticed. They won't notice if I leave either, I'll bet. I'll just help Peter out. Maybe then Evans will pay me some attention." So he did. And just as he thought, the werewolf and the dog did not notice.

Gossip was going around like wildfire, mostly about the marauders and their infamous doings. No one knew exactly who the marauders were, so the teachers were in full uproar about them whenever they felt that there was something about to happen; which was the exact way that the band of boys liked it. They were always inspired by the chaos that always preceded and followed the pranks. It was primitive in a way, their secret identities, but just as it had for the several comic characters before them, and it worked well. James grinned at the gossip and at his friends' accomplishments as well as his own. How marvelous it was to be on top of the school without the consequences.

Then he saw her again. The flaring crimson-haired beauty that lulled his senses to complete relaxation. Her eyes flashed a sparkling emerald green, bringing out a great contrast to her porcelain skin. Potter could not walk in a strait line after looking at her. She had him under her spell and there was no charm to stop it. Her hair was thick and plentiful and cascaded to just a few inches below her shoulders; just beyond shoulder length. This was the normal "fad" for girls' hair at Hogwarts. Just a selected few had it longer, though a great many had it shorter. As James sat at the table, watching her laugh at Tyrace Abott, jealousy rose quickly in him.

Before he could act rashly, his two fellow marauders came in through the big doors laughing and talking about how they were looking forward to their potions class. No one noticed, thankfully or else their ingenious cover would be screwed. Soon all three of his companions were beside him and they were all chatting peacefully. Tomorrow would be the same.

.: Potions Class: Operation Prancing Pansy is Commenced:.

"Alright class, settle down. We have a lot to do today." Boring and annoying Professor Albany droned on and on about how important peacock solution was to the making of wands and other magical items, "It is a very important sealer that we will make for Mr. Olivander in exchange for phoenix feathers and Nox venom." Now Peter was never one for listening in on lectures but he was absolutely thrilled by potions. One of the reasons he didn't like the idea of pulling off this prank. Still, if he didn't James would disown him and he like James more than Professor Albany. Brimming with curiosity, Peter raised his hand, "Professor? Why does Mr. Olivander have Nox venom?" To this question the professor snapped at the adoring student, "Detention is this Saturday at eight. Be there. Now then, about the clippings of Pixie claws," Peter withdrew with disappointment into his chair.

What seemed like an eternity later, they finally went to make the brew. With Albany showing an example the students followed vigilantly, afraid of being invited to detention on Saturday. James had to try very hard to bite back his laughter when he saw the familiar vial being emptied into the cauldron. Sirius and Remus apparently also saw things this way because Remus biting his lip and his dear companion was red in the face. Peter whispered that he knew that Siri was holding his breath. However, James's attention was not at Sirius's face but his hand which poor little Remus was clenching with his own to keep from laughing his head off. Perhaps Black wasn't holding his breath after all? Regardless to the normal opinion, Potter thought otherwise of his friend's red face. Soon his eyes snapped back at his teacher to see that he was taking a sip of the potion and bit back another fit of laughter until he saw the plan working. Professor Albany was hurtling over the desks as though they were daisies and apparently holding an imaginary lass's hand within his own. The class gasped, trying to hold back their laughter but could not and because of that, most of them fell out of their chairs. The four secretly responsible for the spectacle laughed just as hard as the rest of them except for one, Peter. At that moment James confirmed that perhaps he should have left Peter out of this one.

Talk spread like wildfire about the marauders' latest trick to the teacher, which girls swooning over their dreamy fantasies about who they might be and boys grunting their approval of the infamy. Dinner to the students was a feast to the prank, and to the teachers it was a vow to find out who did it. Only thing was that Professor Albany, in his prancing glory, had left scuff marks on some of the clean desks. Magically the scuff marks had been arranged to form a message that read, "Much love from Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs. Long live the marauders."

The students toasted and in their minds they all knew what the others were thinking, "Yes, long live the marauders indeed!"

I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it!

My compliments to you fellow writers,

The Empress of Whispers


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